Water Your Worth

Do you have one of those staple food items that you like to keep around because you know that it is easy to snack on and has potential to be a meal as well?

I have had a variety of things through my suitcase living that I have tried to keep on hand and be regular with – moringa, oats, honey, adaptogenic mushrooms, olive leaf and of course coffee or matcha… I even tried to make sure to have good bread and butter on me through travels at times. I did my best to keep up with at least oats and moringa for the longest and when I took care of a house that only had coffee, I made sure to have at least a little stash of coffee available. Never again do I want to walk to a store with a splitting headache and my child just to get a coffee drink – dang drug.

Anyways, through the times and changes a lot has changed (naturally) and peanut butter has made a re-emergence in my life since early adulthood. I thought I was more into almond butter or just over peanut butter until I lived in Costa Rica and I craved the simplicity of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches only to increase my want as I saw the price of a usual jar of peanut butter was about twenty US dollars (!). Yes, you read that correctly. Our simple staple item was a luxury item in Costa Rica, which is funny to me because they literally have peanuts growing everywhere… but that is a talk for another time (how infrequent the natural was actually was being taken advantage of). So, easy childhood staple of mine became something that I craved. I remember getting my first peanut butter jelly sandwich back in the states and then sharing it with my (now ex) partner’s mom in Ireland. I was so thrilled and satisfied and also pregnant. I remember clearly seeing my friend and partner’s mom’s face as I made her one with such joy… she just didn’t understand why this was something I would seek out and claim to be a staple.

Gradually this over excitement of having peanut butter settled down a bit… until I went back to Costa Rica with my child and yet again faced the want for the simple and complete spoonful of peanut butter with little funds but only getting a small pouch for my child for about five US dollars. I get back to the states and took a picture of peanut butter and the price and shared it with my sister back in Costa Rica as we both laughed about getting the peanut butter again. As with all “favorites” as children we tend to set the things we get so worked up about aside after it is satisfied or until it is looked for again.

What I am about to share with you next though is where I cannot help but laugh at the humor God has with us at times. “Do you eat peanut butter?”, I am asked as the shelter staff was trying to figure out how to feed us when we don’t eat meat and yet wanting to be kind to us since we were Americans. “Yes, we do!”, I say with both a chuckle and excitement being re-united with my childhood staple while also know it to be a good source of calories and protein for us. What happened next though I would have never guessed or expected as I was handed a big tub of peanut butter and we literally lived off of peanut butter more than anything else. I thought for sure I would get tired of it but then when we would run out, I would accept when there was more for us. Have you ever had peanut butter with mashed potatoes before? No? I had not either but it is actually pretty good and ended up being one of my favorite dinners. After living off of a lot of peanut butter for maybe about three months all together, I thought for sure I would not want it anymore for a while…

“We need peanut butter.”, I still find myself saying while we are still living at the mercy of food banks and other’s generosity. I wonder if we will ever look away from peanut butter as God changes our lives or if it is just one of those items that are literally stapled into life no matter what the circumstances are. Do you have a peanut butter vibe or other item that seems to be your go-to basic?